RS

MEMBER DIARY

So What Now? The GOP Needs a New Approach

Stunned. Shocked. Depressed. Demoralized. These are just some of the feelings that Romney voters are going through right now. As I’m typing this, paid conservative opinion makers are typing up their morning columns for various publications blaming Mitt Romney for the 2012 disaster. Anyone who actually buys into what can only be loosely considered intelligent thoughts in these articles is just as lost as the people who wrote them.

Let’s be honest here. After the first presidential debate, the energy that Romney’s performance created never really dissipated among his supporters. The reason this loss is so devastating is because the race was so close, and because the support for Romney was as high as it could have possibly been. Critics will Monday morning QB Romney’s campaign, and what he should or should not have done. While some of their critiques may be correct, the fact remains that Mitt Romney lost this election because 6% more of the American public identifies themselves with the Democratic Party, and they all showed up to vote.

The truth is that the Republican Party itself needs to look inward to find out what it is that has kept it from winning two straight big elections. The party cannot continue to shut out so many voters, and it isn’t just minorities. A big majority of young people, lower income people, single women, and minorities consistently favoring the Democratic Party is clear writing on the wall that changes must be made. Without some major rebuilding both on what the party stands for, and how the party works, it may well go the way of the Whig party that it replaced in 1854.

Make no mistake, Pres. Obama is NOT going to be conciliatory or move to the center. Why should he? As long as the GOP continues to be the same party that lost tonight, he’s proven that, even if only narrowly, Americans will continue to support Democrats over Republicans. The GOP MUST move its platform and outreach into the 21st century.

I’m going to make a symbolic gesture to this endeavor. Soon, I’ll be changing the way I post to my diary by making videos rather than typing up posts. Few people in the world may notice, but at least I can say I used a 21st century idea to try to move the Republican Party in the same direction.